Patriots

Jerod Mayo says there’s no doubt Jacoby Brissett is Patriots’ starting QB heading into training camp

Brissett is QB1 for now, but No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye will have a chance to compete during training camp.

By Khari Thompson

July 23, 2024

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Drake Maye has some ground to make up in his battle with Jacoby Brissett for the Patriots’ starting quarterback job.

Patriots coach Jerod Mayo said Tuesday Brissett is the favorite to start at quarterback, based on his performance in the spring.

“Coming out of the spring, I don’t think there’s any doubt that Jacoby is the starting quarterback at this point and time,” Mayo said. “We can look at these other quarterbacks on the roster. At the same time, it’s about competition.

“So, when we get out on the field this summer with the pads on we’ll see how it all plays out,” Mayo added. “But coming out of the spring I think it’s clear that Jacoby is the most pro-ready guy we have. He’s played a lot of football.”

While Brissett is in the lead right now, there’s still a lot practice time between now and the season opener. Brissett said he’s looking forward to the competition and proving that he’s the one that should eventually win the job.

“Obviously that’s the ultimate goal,” Brissett said. “I obviously don’t take things like that lightly. I understand this league and I understand how every day is a challenge, every day is a competition. I look forward to that and I feed off that and I’m looking forward to going out there and proving it every day.”

But, Mayo didn’t close the door on the possibility of Maye beating Brissett out during training camp. Patriots veterans reported to training camp on Tuesday, and the coaching staff will get an extended look at the players once practices kick off on Wednesday.

“This goes to any position,” Mayo said. “If [Maye] comes out here and he lights it up, and once again it goes back to the quality of reps, it could absolutely happen. I’ll sit here and tell you, coming out of the spring Jacoby looks like the starting quarterback.

“Now with that being said, he’ll have competition,” Mayo added. “Let’s not forget about even Joe Milton. Let’s not forget about (Bailey) Zappe. All those guys will have opportunities to go out there and be the starting quarterback.”

The Patriots head into training camp carrying four quarterbacks: Brissett, Maye, Zappe, and Milton. Mayo said he’s not sure whether New England will stick with four or cut the number down to three.

Although carrying four quarterbacks can seem like a lot, Mayo said there will be various opportunities for the players to show what they can do.

“When we talk about reps, in this room at least, we’re always talking about reps on the field,” Mayo said. “We have various walkthroughs and tools that we can use where guys can get these reps, and I know it sounds crazy but even like our virtual reality thing that I think we talked about in the spring, that’s another thing where guys are able to still get reps.”

“Maybe a guy gets 20 reps on this day, the next day he gets two reps,” Mayo added. “That’s why I tell you guys to be very careful when you start to put together the depth chart and who gets cut and all that stuff because honestly I don’t even know at this point in time. It all goes back to competing, not only on the field but also off the field in the classroom and those things are important.”

Offensive lineman David Andrews said Brissett’s experience and familiarity with the system are two things that serve him well. Brissett played under new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt when they were in Cleveland. Brissett also spent his rookie year in New England in 2016, so there’s some familiarity there as well.

“I’ve really enjoyed having him back for a lot of reasons,” Andrews said. “Obviously he’s played in those offense, so for me that’s been good to work with and he also knows how I operate because of what I’ve done here my last ten years or whatever it is. He knows both systems and knows both sides of it, so that’s been huge for me to kind of have someone to talk to.”